# collective
## English
### Etymology

From Middle French collectif, from Latin collēctīvus, from collēctus, past participle of colligō (“I collect”), from com- (“together”) + legō (“I gather”). Compare French collectif. Doublet of colectivo.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /kəˈlɛktɪv/
* Audio (Southern England):(file)
* Audio (US):(file)
* Hyphenation, US: col‧lec‧tive; UK: col‧lect‧ive
* Rhymes: -ɛktɪv

### Adjective

collective (not comparable)
* Formed by gathering or collecting; gathered into a mass, sum, or body.
    Synonyms: congregated, aggregated
    the collective body of a nation
* Tending to collect; forming a collection.
** 1743, [Edward Young], “Night the Fourth. The Christian Triumph.”, in The Complaint: Or, Night-Thoughts on Life, Death, and Immortality, London: […] R[obert] Dodsley, […], →OCLC, page 18:Local is his throne […] to fix a point, / A central point, collective of his sons.
* Having plurality of origin or authority.
* (grammar) Expressing a collection or aggregate of individuals, by a singular form.
* (obsolete) Deducing consequences; reasoning; inferring.
** 1642, [Thomas Browne], “(please specify the page)”, in Religio Medici, London: […] Andrew Crooke, →OCLC:critical and collective reason

#### Derived terms

* anticollective
* collective action
* collective agreement
* collective bargaining
* collective-bargaining agreement
* collective buying
* collective call sign
* collective fruit
* collective investment scheme
* collectively
* collective memory
* collective mode
* collectiveness
* collective note
* collective noun
* collective number
* collective numeral
* collective punishment
* collective security
* collective study
* collective title
* collective unconscious
* collective West
* collectivism
* collectivist
* collectivization
* hypercollective
* noncollective

#### Related terms

* collect
* collectible
* collection
* collectivity
* collector

#### Translations

    The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

### Noun

collective (plural collectives)
* A farm owned by a collection of people.
* (especially in communist countries) One of more farms managed and owned, through the state, by the community.
* (grammar) A collective noun or name.
* (by extension) A group dedicated to a particular cause or interest.
** 2005, Zoya Kocur, Simon Leung, Theory in contemporary art since 1985, page 76:There are, however, a number of contemporary artists and art collectives that have defined their practice precisely around the facilitation of dialogue among diverse communities.
** 2006 March 5, Holland Cotter, “The Collective Conscious”, in The New York Times‎, →ISSN:Critical Art Ensemble is one of many art collectives operating on the principle that information is power and that it is most effectively made available through a combination of science and aesthetics.
** 2021 October 13, Adam Bradley, “The Creative Collectives Finding Strength in Numbers”, in The New York Times‎, →ISSN:Today’s collectives create together, tour together, exhibit together, live together, survive together, eat together, sleep together, march together, fight together and party together, too.
* The flight control used to control a helicopter's ascent or descent.
** 2012, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Helicopter Flying Handbook: FAA-H-8083-21A, Ravenio Books:A pilot normally holds the collective stationary until the helicopter stops; however, to get more braking action, lower the collective slightly. Keep in mind that, due to the increased ground friction when the collective is lowered or […]
** 2021 July 27, Federal Aviation Administration, Helicopter Flying Handbook: FAA-H-8083-21B, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN:Hover height, rate of ascent, and the rate of descent are controlled by using the collective. Helicopter position and the direction of travel are controlled by the cyclic.

#### Derived terms

* collective noun
* collectivize
* thought collective

#### See also

* Category:English collective nouns

### References

* “collective”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
* “collective”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
* “collective”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

### Further reading

* "collective" in Raymond Williams, Keywords (revised), 1983, Fontana Press, page 69.

## French
### Pronunciation

* Audio:(file)

### Adjective

collective
* feminine singular of collectif
    Après une belle action collective, l’équipe a enfin marqué un but.After some good teamwork, the team finally scored a goal.

## Latin
### Adjective

collēctīve
* vocative masculine singular of collēctīvus